The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
Commercial vehicles, particularly long haul trucks and trailers, can readily travel one hundred thousand miles a year or more. Spindle bearing journal wear accumulates constantly during such use and can be monitored, detected and corrected during routine maintenance. When such wear exceeds a certain amount, it is desirable to replace some or all of the spindles in, for example, a repair facility before they fail on the highway. Motor vehicle axle and bearing components in such commercial vehicles can fail in spite of routine preventative maintenance. Such failures typically occur when the vehicle is in service and thus miles distant from a service facility and many miles from its base of operation. Not only may the replacement of an axle consume several days during which the vehicle is out of operation, but it generally must also be towed to a service facility to undertake the repairs. Due to the expense, both of the actual repair and the lost income accompanying the down time of the vehicle, in addition to spindle and bearing replacement in a shop or maintenance facility, an industry directed to on-site repair of such failed vehicle axle components has also developed.
My U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,418 illustrates a current approach to axle repair. In this method of repair, a long spindle having both inner and outer bearing surfaces and threads is utilized with a sleeve or liner. After the damaged end of the axle of either a tractor or trailer has been removed, the spindle and liner are installed in the axle and welded to the axle at locations inboard from the end of the axle, away from regions of high stress.
Different axle configurations and sizes, however, necessitate different repair equipment and methods and the present invention addresses repair of a new and different axle configuration.